


By the Numbers

by round_robin



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alcohol, Arguments, Blow Jobs, D/s, Drinking Games, Hermann to the rescue, M/M, Punishment, S&M, switching POVs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-27
Updated: 2013-09-27
Packaged: 2017-12-27 19:30:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/982736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/round_robin/pseuds/round_robin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dr. Gottlieb is a numbers man. He would not enter a contest in which he could not win.</p>
            </blockquote>





	By the Numbers

**Author's Note:**

> So this was intended to be a little silly (okay, a lot silly) and be about half as long as it ended up. But you know, ideas...
> 
> Full disclosure: I do not drink. Alcohol is yucky. However, being a twenty-something, I have many, many friends who do drink. I asked them if this amount of alcohol would be ludicrous for a seasoned drinker, and most of them said "no, but you'd have a hell of a headache the next day." (I am also very aware that someone else might think this is a ludicrous amount of alcohol. Regarding alcohol, I've been kind of dubious of my friends for a while.)
> 
> Not beta'd, and my S key is sticky, so typos unfortunately happen. If you find one, please pop it in with your comment and it'll be caught and shot.

The Hong Kong Shatterdome did have better food. Better alcohol, too.

Okay, technically everyone was on call twenty-four seven, but in the saving the world line of business, too little downtime would drive you crazy. And crazy people were not very reliable behind the wheel of thousand ton robots. With Dr. Gottlieb’s predictive model giving three days until the next attack, they could all afford to blow off some steam. Raleigh didn’t know that required a show down.

The details were sketchy, especially hearing them three or four rungs down the gossip ladder. What it basically boiled down to was Dr. Geiszler carrying some of his specimens through the halls, bumping into the Kaidanovskys (Aleksis alone was hard to miss) and spilling said specimens. Boiling over with righteous science rage, Dr. Geiszler made some poor word choices. The Kaidanovskys—usually docile as kittens—took understandable umbrage.

When Raleigh came onto the scene, Dr. Gottlieb was restraining Geiszler with his cane, as Sasha held Aleksis back. Gottlieb and Sasha were exchanging angry words in Russian, German, and possibly Esperanto. Raleigh couldn’t tell, he didn’t understand any of it.

Just as he started to crane his neck around looking for Pentecost to put a stop to it before the Russians killed the Germans, Tendo walked between the two pairs. “Alright!” he shouted, bringing everyone to a more manageable volume. “You guys know the rules about settling crap like this! Seven o’clock, in the mess, right after dinner.”

Surprisingly enough, this seemed to calm all parties involved. Gottlieb released Geiszler and straightened his jacket. Sasha released the death hold she had on Aleksis. They all nodded at each other and went off their separate ways.

Excited whispers started passing through the crowd as everyone went back to their business. Talk of tonight and the “awesome action” that was going to happen. Raleigh—more confused now than ever—looked to his left and found Mako there. “What was that?” he asked.

She shrugged and started down the hall. Raleigh fell into step next to her. “This happens from time to time. In such tight quarters, tempers flare. They will work it out tonight.”

Well, that answered exactly nothing. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Her smile was more of a mystery than anything. “You’ll see tonight.”

~

The mess hall was the most social place they had and was decently occupied most of the day. Tonight, it seemed like everyone in the Shatterdome was packed in.

The crowd formed a circle around one of the centre tables, bare except for two bottles of _Jägermeister_ and a long row of shot glasses. Tendo sat at the table, carefully pouring out twenty-five shots. He lined twelve up on one side of the table, twelve on the other. The last shot he placed in between the two lines. After he was done with that, he nodded to a few mechanics to help him clear the benches away.

As if on cue, the Russians walked up to one side of the table, the Germans on the other. Aleksis stood behind Sasha, his large hand on her back. Gottlieb stood across from her, making eerily direct eye contact while Geiszler whispered in his ear and tugged at the sleeves of his jacket.

“ _Those_ two?” Raleigh asked.

Mako nodded. “Do not underestimate Dr. Gottlieb. I’ve seen him victorious before.”

“How? He came in when I did.”

She shook her head, the blue tips of her hair moving softly around her face. “He and Dr. Geiszler were transferred in before you arrived. They were away collecting samples from the Sydney attack and returned just as you landed.”

All around the mess, money changed hands as bets were placed. Much to his surprise, Mako pulled a ten out of her pocket and walked over to one of the Wei Triplets—without their basketball for once. “Gottlieb to win,” she said.

“What was that?” Raleigh asked when she came back over.

“Tendo runs the odds, but the Weis are the book for these things.” she said, like that explained everything.

By now, Raleigh had resigned himself to the insanity of the situation and was going with it. Still, he never knew Mako not to make the smart move, in life or in betting. “Yeah, but why Gottlieb? Sure, he’s a little bigger than Geiszler, but Sasha’s got this! I’ve heard stories of her drinking down Aleksis.” Most of those stories were from today, as anything not relating to tonight’s festivities was declared boring.

Mako shook her head. “I’ve worked with the PPDC long enough to know: never bet against Kaiju Science. In life, or in drinking.”

“Bets closed!” one of the Weis shouted. An audible groan went through the crowd.

Right then, Tendo raised his hands for calm. The chatter died pretty quickly. “For anyone who doesn’t know the rules: Aleksis and Geiszler had an argument today. Pentecost won’t settle stuff like this, so we have to. Representing Aleksis, we have Sasha.” He gestured to her and she nodded. “Representing Geiszler, we have Gottlieb.” He indicated Gottlieb.

“First one to get to their thirteenth shot wins. Must remain upright while drinking, no outside supports. Anyone touching either player will be considered withdrawal.” With a quick nod, Gottlieb handed his cane to Geiszler, who was practically vibrating with excitement. Bouncing on the balls of his feet, he held the cane close to his chest.

“Every body ready?” Tendo asked. Sasha and Gottlieb nodded. “Go!”

Hands moved to pick up the first drink almost in tandem. Before Raleigh could blink, they were onto the next and the next.

They kept pace drink for drink until shot number ten, when Sasha’s hand started to falter. She paused for a moment and took a breath. Raleigh could hardly blame her, barely ten minutes had passed. Even for the strongest drinker, a shot a minute was a lot.

Gottlieb stood there holding his glass aloft. He raised an eyebrow as if to ask “quite alright?”

She managed to shake it off and picked up her glass. They fell into sync once more. Shot ten down. Shot eleven.

They both reached shot twelve and she paused again. This time, Sasha lifted both hands to her head and took a half step back. Aleksis was right behind her, but he did not touch her.

Gottlieb waited another moment before grabbing his twelfth drink and upending it. He eyed Sasha and flicked his gaze to Aleksis. The large man met his eyes and nodded. Gottlieb grabbed the last shot just as Aleksis put his hands on Sasha. Victory through withdrawal.

The mess erupted with cheers and groans. Half the room mobbed the Weis to collect (or more often, to pay up) while the other half divided between consoling the Russians and congratulating the Germans. Geiszler let out a loud whoop and held the cane in the air.

It all came to a stop with one look from Gottlieb. Holding out one hand, he reclaimed his cane and grabbed Geiszler with the other. As stead as he’d been when he walked in, he marched them both out of the mess.

 _Well_ , Raleigh thought, _that explains that_.

As soon as he could think to look for her, Mako was next to him, holding a small wad of her winnings. Raleigh nudged her arm. “How did you know he would win?” he asked.

“Simple,” she said. “Dr. Gottlieb is a numbers man. He would not enter a contest in which he could not win.” Before Raleigh could ponder that too deeply, Mako was off.

~

Back in their shared quarters, Newt was practically vibrating with the need for Hermann to touch him. It wasn’t every day his honor was defended in such a public forum and the chivalry of it made him excited and horny and all sorts of proud. An icy glare from Hermann was the only thing that kept him from bragging to everyone they saw, _This is my man and you can’t have him_.

He waited with more patience than anyone would give him credit for having as Hermann purged tonight’s activities from his stomach. The door opened a moment later and Hermann stumbled in. He still looked a little disheveled but it was better than earlier; he would definitely feel this tomorrow.

Newt didn’t even have a chance to open his mouth. “Don’t you dare,” Hermann snapped. It only took two steps to cross over to him, anger supporting Hermann’s stride. One hand grabbed the hair at the base of his neck and bent Newt back, just enough to make him notice. “Don’t you dare think that you’ll be rewarded after tonight’s behavior. We have important work here, and I dislike having to set aside time for foolish competitions! We have better things to do.

“And how dare you mouth off to the Kaidanovskys. They are the only other souls in this place that can stand your idiotic music. They traded media files with you, for God’s sake! Everyone in this facility deserves respect for the difficult jobs they do, and the Kaidanovskys—I had thought—earned your friendship.”

“I’m sorry,” Newt panted, cock still straining inside his jeans. He loved it when Hermann yelled at him, probably a bit too much.

Hermann did not miss this. His eyes swept over Newt before releasing his hair. “I’m going to punish you now. Take off your clothes and sit on the bed.” Newt scrambled to follow his orders, probably ripping off a few buttons in the process of getting undressed. When he was sat on the bed, the next order came, “Hands under your thighs.” A cold shiver ran down his spine as he obeyed. Hermann wouldn’t…

Taking a small, hobbling step towards the desk, Hermann pulled out the chair and sat. His fingers pulled open his trousers, unbuckling his belt and reaching inside to pull out his cock. Newt tried his hardest not to whimper as he watched Hermann stroke himself to hardness. _No_ , Newt thought, _that’s my job_.

Now sufficiently hard, he reached back on the desk to grab the bottle of lube they kept tucked behind a stack of books. Smearing some onto his fingers, Hermann started working in earnest. “You know I draw no pleasure from masturbation, but you have not earned the right to touch me tonight. So, not only is this a punishment for you, you have denied me pleasure as well.” Newt couldn’t hold back this whimper. “You may speak.”

“Please!” The word burst out of Newt like it had been shot out of a cannon. “Please! That’s my job. Let me do it. Let me make you feel good. I want to make you feel good, I always want to make you feel good.”

Hermann arched an eyebrow, his hand continued to stroke. “Really? Your behavior today would suggest otherwise.”

“What do I need to do?” Newt panted. He rocked against the mattress, the urge to fall to his knees in front of Hermann and take that beautiful cock in his mouth was so strong. But he knew that disobeying orders during a punishment would result in something worse. His thoughts briefly ticked over to what that might mean; they didn’t use the upper mattress on their stupid bunk beds, but maybe—if Hermann was angry enough—he would make Newt sleep up there. Newt didn’t think he could handle that, not ever and especially not now, with almost certain death looming around every corner.

“Please,” he begged. “Tell me what to do to make it up to you. Please, please.”

Hermann leveled a sharp glare at him and Newt thought he might explode. “It is not I that you need to apologize to. Think about it.”

He watched Hermann’s hand for two more torturous strokes before it clicked. “Sasha,” he said. “Tomorrow I’ll apologize to Sasha. For the argument and the game.”

“And?”

“Aleksis,” Newt said, quicker this time. “I’ll apologize to Sasha and Aleksis for the things I said and for what happened tonight.”

“Yes you will.”

Watching Hermann taking his hand off his cock was the best moment of the night. He stood up and walked over to Newt. Newt’s mouth dropped open, but he didn’t lean forward, he knew that would get him exactly nowhere.

Hermann braced his hands on the rail of the upper bunk. “Unbutton my shirt,” he commanded. Newt’s hands flew up and worked quickly on their task. When Hermann’s pale, perfect chest was revealed, he wanted nothing more than to run his hands over it, burry his face in the sparsely furred belly and moan… “You may suck my cock, but keep your hands off yourself.”

“Yes,” Newt moaned and leaned forward.

Hermann’s cock was thick and gorgeous, and it slid down Newt’s throat like it belonged there. When his nose hit Hermann’s belly, he moaned, content pooling inside of him. Newt was one of those fortunate people who never really seemed to have a gag reflex, and deep-throating was by far his favorite thing. He moaned around the lovely cock in his mouth and he could feel Hermann tremble. Wrapping his arms around Hermann’s back, Newt held him steady as he continued to deliver one of his—he would say—finer blow jobs.

“Here it comes,” Hermann warned. He was considerate like that, always warning so Newt could prepare himself. Like Newt didn’t have a mental catalog on Hermann’s various physical warning signs for every single scenario.

Newt happily swallowed Hermann’s load and was careful to pull off when he got too sensitive. Usually, Hermann would sit down next to him before his leg began to protest, but this time, a heavy hand gripped tight to Newt’s shoulder. “What was the lesson?” he asked.

Newt lifted his chin and looked right into Hermann’s eyes. “All of our collogues are doing important work. None of us have time for distractions. I’ll apologize to the Kaidanovskys tomorrow.”

“Good,” Hermann said. For the first time that night, he let a smile break through. He took a step back and started removing the rest of his clothing. Nodding towards Newt’s erection, he said “That looks like it aches.” Newt nodded. “Budge over and I’ll give you a hand before bed.”

Newt scrambled to move over and helped Hermann get into the bed. Once they were both settled, Hermann took him into his arms and started stroking. It didn’t take long for Newt to shoot into Hermann’s hand, and when Hermann lifted said hand for him to lick clean, he made short work of that as well.

When they were both settled and ready for sleep, Hermann cleared his throat softly. “I love you, you know.”

Newt closed his eyes and nuzzled against Hermann’s chest. “I love you too. And thank you for tonight.” He could feel Hermann nod. They both fell silent and drifted off.

~

The next morning, Raleigh was down in the Jaeger bay when he saw Gottlieb and Geiszler making their way over to Cherno Alpha. Without their music blaring, he hadn’t even noticed that the Kaidanovskys were in. When he saw Sasha sitting with one hand on her head, he remembered why loud noise wouldn’t be conducive. Raleigh wasn’t much for gossip, but when he saw everyone else watching the exchange, he figured there was no harm.

Gottlieb stood behind Geiszler as the smaller man spoke to Sasha, and then Aleksis. No one could really hear the conversation over the noise, but it didn’t look like another show down was in order. When he was done speaking, Aleksis stood up and grabbed Geiszler into a bear hug, lifting him a good foot and a half off the ground. From where he was standing, Raleigh could see Dr. Gottlieb’s jaw tightening, but he didn’t say anything.

Next, Sasha stood up and shook Geiszler’s hand. He nodded to them both and retreated back to Gottlieb. They were about to leave when Sasha caught them and kissed Gottlieb’s cheek. She whispered something in his ear and his face turned bright red. Another nod—stiffer this time—and they were off.

When they passed Raleigh, Geiszler had his arm wrapped around Gottlieb’s shoulders in one of those buddy-buddy half hugs. Gottlieb’s face was still bright red and everyone—including Geiszler—seemed to think this was the funniest thing to happen all day.

The End

**Author's Note:**

> And yes, they are drinking Jägermeister, because I couldn't resist.


End file.
